AM Route Driver of the Year: Lester Fields

At age 12, Lester Fields accompanied his father into the mines and emerged covered with soot. When he got home and looked in the mirror, he saw the whites of his eyes amidst a black layer that covered his face. A love of cleanliness became instinctive. As a coal miner's son in Richwood, W. Va., Fields acquired an aversion to dirt.

Fields also cherished the comfort of his home, his friends and his family, values which were also important in rural West Virginia. He learned the need to do his part to help out whenever and however he could. He grew up believing in the importance of doing his best to help make life better for other people, always placing secondary importance on his own comfort.

An exceptional commitment to customer service
That dedication has resulted in a commitment to customer service that is now the pride of Canteen Vending Services Inc.'s Verona, Va. branch. In his 32 years as a route driver, Fields has compiled a record of excellence that most vending companies could only dream of. He is the 2005 Automatic Merchandiser Route Driver of the Year.

In 32 years, Fields has missed one day of work, boasts an over/short record of 0.16 percent for the current fiscal year, a 0 percent pastry spoilage, 3.55 percent food waste, not a single driving accident or citation, 100 percent account retention, and the overall top sales performance.

Top honors in a highly competitive field
Fields took top honors in a field of more than 60 nominees. He was nominated by Jo Dee Jolley, the regional manager for Canteen's Verona, Va. district. He was cited for outstanding performance in the areas of sales, professionalism, safety, customer service and "outstanding qualities."

Fields will be honored by Kraft Vending & OCS during the NAMA National Expo in Atlanta, Ga. Kraft Vending & OCS is once again the sponsor of AM's annual Route Driver of the Year Contest, now in its second year.

"In today's world, he is the route driver we all wish to hire but never see walk through the door," said Jolley, herself a 23-year vending veteran. "He has devoted his life to Canteen, his customers and his family. Lester doesn't do all of this for the personal recognition; he works to please his customers and make Canteen the best vending company in the world."

When you meet him for the first time, Fields looks you straight in the eye and, if he doesn't know your name, calls you "sir" or "ma'am."

"I'm just an old country boy," he likes to tell people in his unassuming manner. Which isn't to say he's not very proud of the values he learned from his parents. They instilled in him a sense of duty to his community and the pride in doing a job well.

"I enjoy keeping things clean," he said. "That's the way I want things to be." There is a cleaning cloth in his back pocket at all times.

An early introduction to vending
Shortly after his 17th birthday, Fields ran into a childhood friend, Randall Dorsey, who was working as a supervisor for the Canteen branch in Charlottesville, Va. Dorsey, who himself had started with Canteen at age 17, knew Fields from childhood in Richwood, W.Va. He knew Fields would make an excellent route man.

"He was easy to train," recalled Dorsey, now 64 and retired. The two men still keep in touch. "He got along well with people. He performed well."

Fields, for his part, was happy to try something other than working in the mines.

"I loved it," he said of his first route driving job. Vending route drivers were well paid compared to other entry level jobs that were available to Fields at the time. He saw an opportunity to earn as much money as a miner, without the dangers.

For a boy who had worked in the coal mines, the amount of cleaning involved in servicing vending machines was hardly intimidating. Fields also enjoyed working with food and beverages, and with the various machines.